I wonder if it has occurred to anyone that next month's summit meeting about North Korea in Vancouver puts all of Kim Jong Un's enemies in one place at one time, inside of the supposed range of his missiles?

If Trump supporters wanted a tough guy, why did they elect such a whiny bitch? - Mo

I wonder if it has occurred to anyone that next month's summit meeting about North Korea in Vancouver puts all of Kim Jong Un's enemies in one place at one time, inside of the supposed range of his missiles?

An early-morning emergency alert mistakenly warning of an incoming ballistic missile attack was dispatched to cellphones across Hawaii on Saturday, setting off widespread panic in a state that was already on edge because of escalating tensions between the United States and North Korea.

The alert, sent by the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, was revoked 38 minutes after it was issued, prompting confusion over why it was released — and why it took so long to rescind. State officials and residents of a normally tranquil part of the Pacific, as well as tourists swept up in the panic, immediately expressed outrage.

“What happened today was totally unacceptable,” said Gov. David Y. Ige. “Many in our community were deeply affected by this. I am sorry for that pain and confusion that anyone might have experienced.”

Of course, Gov. Ige, it might help if you stopped feeding the anxiety.

The alert went out at about 8:10 a.m., lighting up phones of people still in bed, having coffee by the beach at a Waikiki resort, or up for an early surf. “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL,” it read.

If Trump supporters wanted a tough guy, why did they elect such a whiny bitch? - Mo

Tyler Cowen needs to read up on dictators. Kim's father was even more obsessed with South Korea culture. To the point where he kidnapped a leading director and actress and became their benefactor to finance any crazy fucking movie they wanted to make. He also forced them to stay married. And after what happened to Qaddafi, why would he loosen his grip even a tiny bit?

Second: Kim is only human and has to be thinking some about his own life. Does he want 40 or more years of lining up officials and executing them? These days the headlines are about K-pop in North Korea, such as when the popular girl group Red Velvet performed for Kim and his wife early in April. It turns out that Kim is quite the fan of South Korean popular culture -- long banned for his people, with brutal enforcement.

his voice is so soothing, but why do conspiracy nuts always sound like Batman and Robin solving one of Riddler's puzzles out loud? - fod

Tyler Cowen needs to read up on dictators. Kim's father was even more obsessed with South Korea culture. To the point where he kidnapped a leading director and actress and became their benefactor to finance any crazy fucking movie they wanted to make. He also forced them to stay married. And after what happened to Qaddafi, why would he loosen his grip even a tiny bit?

Second: Kim is only human and has to be thinking some about his own life. Does he want 40 or more years of lining up officials and executing them? These days the headlines are about K-pop in North Korea, such as when the popular girl group Red Velvet performed for Kim and his wife early in April. It turns out that Kim is quite the fan of South Korean popular culture -- long banned for his people, with brutal enforcement.

Well, it beats being put up against the wall yourself. Or decorating a lamp-post.

If Trump supporters wanted a tough guy, why did they elect such a whiny bitch? - Mo

Tyler Cowen needs to read up on dictators. Kim's father was even more obsessed with South Korea culture. To the point where he kidnapped a leading director and actress and became their benefactor to finance any crazy fucking movie they wanted to make. He also forced them to stay married. And after what happened to Qaddafi, why would he loosen his grip even a tiny bit?

Second: Kim is only human and has to be thinking some about his own life. Does he want 40 or more years of lining up officials and executing them? These days the headlines are about K-pop in North Korea, such as when the popular girl group Red Velvet performed for Kim and his wife early in April. It turns out that Kim is quite the fan of South Korean popular culture -- long banned for his people, with brutal enforcement.

Well, it beats being put up against the wall yourself. Or decorating a lamp-post.

Tyler Cowen needs to read up on dictators. Kim's father was even more obsessed with South Korea culture. To the point where he kidnapped a leading director and actress and became their benefactor to finance any crazy fucking movie they wanted to make. He also forced them to stay married. And after what happened to Qaddafi, why would he loosen his grip even a tiny bit?

Second: Kim is only human and has to be thinking some about his own life. Does he want 40 or more years of lining up officials and executing them? These days the headlines are about K-pop in North Korea, such as when the popular girl group Red Velvet performed for Kim and his wife early in April. It turns out that Kim is quite the fan of South Korean popular culture -- long banned for his people, with brutal enforcement.

Well, it beats being put up against the wall yourself. Or decorating a lamp-post.

That's the thing, dictators are more likely to get overthrown and hanged by their people when they lift the boot just a little. It would be better for global order if we went with the exile to Elba route with brutal dictators.

his voice is so soothing, but why do conspiracy nuts always sound like Batman and Robin solving one of Riddler's puzzles out loud? - fod

"Are you finding it harder to enjoy running your totalitarian hellhole? Have you ever lamented that theocratic rule had way more meetings than you were expecting? Do you feel like La Revolucion has lost its luster? Well, we have just the place for you! Come to Dictatopia, the all-inclusive resort for dictators who just want to step back and enjoy a golden palace without the hassle of keeping the trains running on time! We have lavish buffets, endangered animals that can be hunted for your sporting pleasure, and courtesans and rentboys to suit every possible taste. Payment can be made in cash, bearer bonds, Swiss bank transfers, gold, diamonds, or plundered artifacts."

"And act now and we'll throw in free legal services from Michael Cohen, who has recently joined our live-in staff!"

"just build a quantum foam wall and make the tardigrades pay for it."
--Hugh

Tyler Cowen needs to read up on dictators. Kim's father was even more obsessed with South Korea culture. To the point where he kidnapped a leading director and actress and became their benefactor to finance any crazy fucking movie they wanted to make. He also forced them to stay married. And after what happened to Qaddafi, why would he loosen his grip even a tiny bit?

Second: Kim is only human and has to be thinking some about his own life. Does he want 40 or more years of lining up officials and executing them? These days the headlines are about K-pop in North Korea, such as when the popular girl group Red Velvet performed for Kim and his wife early in April. It turns out that Kim is quite the fan of South Korean popular culture -- long banned for his people, with brutal enforcement.

Well, it beats being put up against the wall yourself. Or decorating a lamp-post.

That's the thing, dictators are more likely to get overthrown and hanged by their people when they lift the boot just a little. It would be better for global order if we went with the exile to Elba route with brutal dictators.

I think Kim is young enough and smart enough to realize that he dies violently or he dies as the North Korean Deng. North Korea is far more porous than it used to be. Whether he is smart enough to pull it off is another question.

I'd like to think he goes the Deng route, but IIRC when Un was purging various officials earlier in his reign, some of those people were purged precisely for suggesting the country make some Chinese-style reforms to its economy. Maybe Un's changed his mind about that over the past couple of years, but....

"Myself, despite what they say about libertarians, I think we're actually allowed to pursue options beyond futility or sucking the dicks of the powerful." -- Eric the .5b

The Infallible Wikipedia wrote:Deng Xiaoping 22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary and politician. He was the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China from 1978 until his retirement in 1989

Or wait, do you mean he successfully changed directions in favor of a market economy? Yeah, dang if Deng didn't dance the despot side-step.

Deng rose to the top at the end of a period where the Politburo members had been living in fear for their lives on a daily basis. They wanted personal safety. Also, the economy was in shambles after the Cultural Revolution. The need for reform was obvious. They knew they could not do it without an end to the infighting-to-the-death.

If Trump supporters wanted a tough guy, why did they elect such a whiny bitch? - Mo

I'd like to think he goes the Deng route, but IIRC when Un was purging various officials earlier in his reign, some of those people were purged precisely for suggesting the country make some Chinese-style reforms to its economy. Maybe Un's changed his mind about that over the past couple of years, but....

I think the Un-Kim is too aware of what happened to Ceausescu, Honecker, and Jaruzelski to take the chance on loosening his grip. (Even among non-Communists, there are Reza Pahlavi, Mubarak and Quaddafi as examples of 'what could go wrong'.)

In addition to issues of continued personal health, there is also the likelihood he really enjoys power.

If Trump supporters wanted a tough guy, why did they elect such a whiny bitch? - Mo

The Infallible Wikipedia wrote:Deng Xiaoping 22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary and politician. He was the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China from 1978 until his retirement in 1989

There are many types of retirement. There's full-on "I don't work here anymore, not my problem, whatevz" retirement, and then there's "I no longer have to attend meetings on a daily basis but powerful people are still loyal to me and respect my wishes" retirement. Deng had the later.

"just build a quantum foam wall and make the tardigrades pay for it."
--Hugh